Friday the 13th

Happy Friday everyone! Happy Friday the 13th! What a week it's been and the was no stopping the insanity come Friday, which is also my birthday. I had a pretty tight deadline for a press bio and when all was said and done, I was pretty tired when it was finished but also quite excited for my dinner surprise that Ryan had planned for my 33rd birthday.

For breakfast, I had some fresh strawberries and some Post Shredded Wheat with skim milk, strawberries and bananas, and an iced latte. I'm finding that having Shredded Wheat is pretty filling and helps with digestion. If that's TMI, sorry. But the women on my mother's side deal with issues related to IBS and the like, which doesn't make having any kind of diet much fun at times.

I had plans to eat out for lunch, but with my writing still not close to finished, I opted for some Jimmy John's. I was starving! Now, I know what you're thinking. Those sandwiches aren't the healthiest. But I had a salami sandwich with only lettuce and tomato, and added my own mustard at home. The sandwich was filling enough without the fat. I also had a handful of pretzels.

For my birthday, Ryan took me downtown to the celebrated Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. What a FABULOUS surprise! The view was just as amazing as the food and it really was a blast of an evening!

Here's Ryan checking out the menu!

Finally, a picture together. Cheese!

As an appetizer, Ryan and I shared the Grilled Michigan Asparagus Bruschetta. We're both fans of your usual tomato bruschetta and have our own version that's truly tasty, but this one was hands down fantastic! The ricotta cheese was thinly spread and the lemon aioli was nice. YUM!

I am a big seafood fan and an even bigger soup person, so I had to try their Lobster Bisque. Ryan also helped out. I've also been trying to be more adventurous in my food choices lately, so I thought I'd try the seared duck breast for my main entree. Not too bad. Really flavorful and sweet with its mix of steel cut oats, pecan and rhubarb crumble, and baby turnips. Can't forget about their to-die-for bread.

What birthday is complete without cake? Ryan and I topped off our evening with some Godiva chocolate bread pudding. It was very cake-y and perfectly delicious. Loved it!

Funny, someone from the waitstaff told me to take photos in the ladies room, since it has the best view of Chicago. He was right!

Another memorable year! So thrilled to be in Chicago and to be a part of this crazy exciting blogosphere! Thanks so much for reading.